HSBC Holdings Plc, the world's third-biggest bank by market value, plans to enter Chinese mainland's fledgling insurance industry by selling a domestic partner's products this year, bank executives said yesterday.

HSBC's Asian unit has won regulatory approval to provide insurance services in Shanghai and Guangzhou, and plans to begin selling policies from Ping An Insurance Co. in those two cities, a mainland-based executive told Reuters.

Its Beijing and Shenzhen branches were awaiting approval from regulators, which HSBC expected to come soon, the executive added.

HSBC holds a 19.9 percent stake in Ping An Insurance.

"For now, we will sell only Ping An's accident-, health- and life-related insurance products to HSBC clients on the mainland," the executive said.

HSBC is currently allowed to sell only foreign currency-dominated, and third-party insurance products within its own network on the mainland, the executive added.

The mainland's insurance sector is expanding as Beijing dismantles a cradle-to-grave welfare system. Foreign players such as American International Group are gaining more access to the mainland market under commitments Beijing made when it joined the World Trade Organization.

Life insurance premiums leapt 27 percent from January to May to 162.49 billion yuan (US$19.6 billion), versus 128.3 billion yuan (US$15.5 billion) in the year-earlier period, according to official data.

But the sector is still dominated by China's three biggest insurers: China Life Insurance Co Ltd, Ping An and China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co.

(China Daily July 8, 2005)